June 04, 2013, 9:32AM

The chief financial officer of the embattled St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office has become the second high-ranking administrator to resign as federal and state investigators look into allegations of questionable spending and management practices at the agency, sources said. Kim Kelly stepped down Friday, according to sources, about one month after the resignation of executive director Melanie Comeaux. Efforts... Full story »

May 31, 2013, 4:34PM

The Republican Party has a messaging problem and must change its identification to avoid being deemed racist, according to a conservative activist. K. Carl Smith, founder of the grassroots initiative The Conservative Messenger who calls himself a Fredrick Douglass Republican, says the GOP needs to broaden its base by getting back to the four tenets of what he calls... Full story »

May 21, 2013, 7:32PM

At a St. Bernard Parish Council meeting on Tuesday, the parish administration and Nunez Community College, along with GNO Inc., announced an initiative to provide local high school students with college-level technical training. The program, financed with $500,000 in parish Community Development Block Grant funds, will help develop and buy equipment for the advanced manufacturing classes and would pay... Full story »

May 20, 2013, 3:30PM

A federal judge has dismissed former St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro's defamation lawsuit against current Parish President Dave Peralta and several other parish employees. The judge said that while Taffaro's suit characterized the animosity between him and Peralta, it failed to demonstrate how Peralta and others violated Taffaro's rights. The Taffaro suit claimed they had engaged in "creating... Full story »

May 16, 2013, 3:03PM

St. Bernard Parish President Dave Peralta was accused of playing a part in the alleged discrimination against African Americans wanting to rent property in St. Bernard after Hurricane Katrina, according to U.S. Department of Justice filings that would have been presented at trial this week. The civil case that was settled Friday (May 10) was the final saga in... Full story »

May 13, 2013, 7:16PM

The House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works approved a measure Monday aimed at saving a flailing ferry service in New Orleans by allowing it to enter into cooperative endeavor agreement with a political subdivision. Full story »

May 10, 2013, 9:59AM

Capitol Beat is a video series dedicated to bringing Louisiana residents coverage of the 2013 legislative session. Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax plan, transportation, higher education and criminal justice are expected to be some of the hot topics this session. To receive updates on all legislative session news from the Capitol, follow @brnola on Twitter or "Like" the NOLA.com |... Full story »

May 08, 2013, 5:05PM

A Violet woman accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the church where she worked is employed by the St. Bernard Parish government's finance department and will remain there. Parish President Dave Peralta confirmed the woman's status with the parish on Wednesday, but said Trinette Johnson is in a clerical position and does not work with cash or checks.... Full story »

May 08, 2013, 10:12AM

Gov. Bobby Jindal has appointed Wilton "Paul" Tilly III of Metairie to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East. The nine-member board coordinates regional flood protection for the East Jefferson, Lake Borgne Basin, Orleans, St. Tammany, and Tangipahoa Levee districts. Tilly is a project engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Petroleum Reserve and is a licensed civil engineer.... Full story »

May 07, 2013, 8:22PM

The St. Bernard Parish Council on Tuesday evening approved a $3 million bond, a revenue anticipation note, for the new parish hospital. The St. Bernard Parish Hospital anticipates receiving about $9 million to $10 million in revenue from insurance providers such as Medicare and Medicaid, Joseph Kempka, the hospital's interim CFO, told the council. But, in the meantime, he... Full story »